Paystack-led investment group acquires Nigerian fintech, Brass

An investment group led by Paystack has acquired struggling Nigerian fintech, Brass, for an undisclosed amount.

Other participants in the acquisition are PiggyVest, Ventures Platform, P1 Ventures, and angel investor –  Olumide Soyombo.

Paystack and Brass announced the acquisition in separate statements on Tuesday.

This development comes barely two months after Brass disengaged an unspecified number of its staff citing the current economic realities as the cause.

The startup co-founded by Sola Akindolu and Emmanuel Okeke four years ago had raised $2 million over the period to build and grow through the changing times.

What investors bring

According to the statement from Paystack, each member of the investment group brings several years  of experience in financing and building reliable financial service products, together with a new infusion of capital, to drive the next stage of growth for Brass.

Commenting on the acquisition, the Chief Operating Officer of Paystack, Amandine Lobelle, said,

“Every day, thousands of businesses use Paystack’s payments tool to accept payments from customers from anywhere in the world. Payments, however, are only one part of a business’s financial stack.

“To meet their goals, ambitious businesses in Africa require a wide variety of world-class tools from payroll to expense management and beyond – the kinds of tools built by Nigeria-headquartered Brass.

“Brass and Paystack have had a long working relationship since Brass’ founding, and we’re thrilled today to announce a new chapter in our partnership.”

Brass founder speaks

Speaking on the acquisition, Brass founder, Sola Akindolu, said the company started four years ago with a simple mission of enabling entrepreneurship for Africans, making it more permission-less and successful.

He added that over the years, the company has added and supported tens of thousands of businesses with top-end financial tools for local businesses.

“Brass has grown tremendously since we started this incredible journey, and it continues to be an important player in Nigeria’s SMB economy.

“Today, I write to officially share that Paystack has led a consortium with members like Piggytech, Ventures Platform, and P1 Ventures to acquire Brass to continue the work we started. Brass has been product-led since its founding days, building incredible products with a great brand and leading an amazing team,” he said.

Following the acquisition, Akindolu said Brass will continue to build and support its customers and grow with a new leadership team, as the founding leadership team will leave to pursue other opportunities.

What you should know

Sola Akindolu and Emmanuel Okeke founded Brass in July 2020. Before Brass, CEO Akindolu was the head of product at YC-backed Kudi, while CTO Okeke was an engineering manager at Stripe subsidiary Paystack.

• In October 2021, the company secured a $1.7 million funding round to scale its offerings for “local entrepreneurs, traders, and fast-growing businesses.”
• The mission to make banking work for small businesses was one reason why pan-African VC firm Ventures Platform invested in the company, according to its general partner, Kola Aina.
• Other investors included Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Paystack co-founder Ezra Olubi, Hustle Fund, Acuity Ventures and Uncovered Fund.

Previous backers include Olumide Soyombo of Voltron Capital, Leonard Stiegler, and Fola Olatunji-David.